Episode 37: Mommy Juice Culture and Sleepover Dinner Ideas

SPOILER: THIS ISN’T WHAT REAL LIFE LOOKS LIKE

Oh, hey! It’s Stacie and Meghan, coming at you live from Austin, Texas! While together IRL enjoying girl time, a chance to work face-to-face, and a few sleepovers (no kids!), we decided to get real about what hosting sleepovers for our kids means for the family cook. We mostly share favorite playdate snacks and sleepover dinner ideas, but also touch on “Mommy Juice” culture. Because let’s be honest: Who doesn’t joke about escaping to a big ol’ glass of wine when you not only have to deal with your own kids, but other people’s kids too. All. Night. Long.

Well, actually, lots of people, including sober parents and others who opt not to make drinking alcohol a regular part of their life. So maybe the whole “Mommy Juice” trope is problematic after all? Or maybe we’re taking things too seriously? This time, we have a strong opinion. #SorryNotSorry

Mommy Juice Is…

Harmless or normalizing alcohol as way of coping with parental stress?

Mommy Juice has become such a popular phrase that you can get your very own Mommy Juice mug or wine tumbler. Or 10 of them, if you want. Because there are seriously that many designs — or more! — to choose from.

But is drinking wine out of a mug and calling it juice really what we want to model for our kids?

We explore this question and others having to do with inclusivity, mommy shaming and (drum roll!) patriarchy, how overtaxed parents cope, and more in this week’s episode.

Like, how do sober parents feel when we flippantly refer to “mommy juice” or center alcohol at play dates and mom get-togethers? And how come there are no comparable Daddy Juice mugs for all those beer swigging daddies?

Want to dig deeper? If you listened to this episode and want to learn more about the things we reference, here’s your chance. Other than recipes, which you can find to your right, this week’s links include:

We want to hear from you!

Are you a “Wine Mom” who thinks we’re taking this too seriously? A sober mom who has issues with the idea of “Mommy Juice"? Or maybe you just don’t care, regardless of your sobriety status. Whatever the case, we want to know what you think of “Mommy Juice” culture.

Chime in on this week’s conversation on Facebook, where you can find us as @didntijustfeedyou. And if you’re a listener who knows the answer to the secret question, hop into our Listeners’ Group to tell us if you think our secret password is due for a change in light of this week’s convo!

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You can be sure that the conversation about “Mommy Juice” will live beyond these pages, because it’s (ahem) a juicy topic. Plus, we’ll be sharing more recipe ideas for sleepovers, and maybe some ways other than alcohol that we can de-stress and take care of ourselves when mom life feels like too much. So be sure to find us on Instagram: